Harry and I have been friends for many years and I can never read any of his writing without hearing that smooth voice that lingers from word to word like a fine musician plays notes on a piano! Without further ado.... Here's Harry...
Harry is Dufferin County's Poet Laureate, organizer and host of the annual Day of the Poets festival in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, and co-host with Peter Noce of The Sill podcast (www.thesillpodcast.com).
What genre do you
write?
If I had
to pin it down, I would say that I’m writing in the literary fiction genre. You
know, the kind of writing you shake your head at and say, “Now, what in the
heck is this writer going on about?” Often, as well, my poetic tendencies creep
into my books and stories, so they can end up feeling like poetic prose or
prosy poetry.
Does your reading
choices reflect your writing choices?
Yes,
often. But I also like to touch base with non-fiction every now and then, so
that I don’t get swept off the planet on a cloud of my own imaginings. I need
that tether to ground me, and also as a source of good information, especially
if my book/poem explores those areas. I’m currently reading Catherine
Gildiner’s GOOD MORNING, MONSTER, which is an account of five of her
psychotherapeutic patients and their heroic journeys. I graduated with a degree
in counseling psychology, so these kinds of books are great for me as a writer
to deepen my understanding of why people do what they do. I’ll also be
interviewing Catherine about her book on December 3rd, as part of
Orangeville Library’s annual WOW (Words the Orangeville Way).
Which type of
characters are your favorite to write?
I like to write
characters who are on the edge in some way, whether it be through their
own making, or the circumstances in which they’ve been raised. ‘Normal’
characters don’t interest me that much. Maybe it’s because I’m something of a
weirdo myself, in the way I think about the world. Some writers who I
appreciate in this regard include Chuck Palahniuk, Donald Barthelme and Lydia
Davis.
If
you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Don’t get
stuck in the ‘writing what you know’ schtick. One of the great pleasures of
this craft is the exploration of parts of the world and of human endeavour that
you would never have experienced if it weren’t for the impulse to write about
it. Read books about stuff that you have little to no interest in. I know, it’s
tough. But it’s an exercise that helps on several levels: we learn something
new; we exercise our willpower (which is indispensable when it comes to
long-form writing); and we stay unstuck from the one-note groove of ‘what we
know’. I’m not saying don’t write about what you know. But don’t get stuck
there!
Do your
characters come before or after your plot?
They tend
to come before the plot. I fall into the category of intuitive scribblers,
letting the plot find its own direction based upon the world in which the
character is living. Somewhere it is said that ‘character is destiny’. I truly
believe this, and that all else follows from character. In other words, who you
are is what you do.
What
are you working on now?
I’ve just
finished a first draft of HERE IS BETTY, the third novella in a trilogy that
started with PEGGY LEE’S DELICIOUS LIPS (Quattro Books), followed by DUX DISPAR
(currently being shopped around). I also continue to write and present poetry
as part of my duties as Poet Laureate.
A smorgasboard of Harry's books...
PEGGY LEE’S DELICIOUS LIPS
Percy
Barnum Thurman is driving up a hill in the countryside. That’s it. That’s all.
Except for the thousand and one moments in a squidgy life that determine who
and what we are, that leap in front of us like a startled deer shooting across
the road in front of a man driving up a hill in the countryside. Metafiction
that is very bendy.
LITTLE EXITS
Flash
fiction that explores the wonder and mystery and terror that is death. Funny,
poignant, profound. You’ll die every which way but loose!
WORDBIRDS
Poetry
that explores the nature of, the feelings of, the adventure of life as a bird.
Includes bird paintings by the author. Perfect for the young reader.
